Political Pop-Up at St Paul’s

Rev. Karl Weeks-Dickson tells us about the Meet the Candidates event held at St Paul’s Waiwhetu on Sunday.

The rain was holding off, the coffee was fair trade and living wage, the coffee caravan a small local business, and the conversation political, as the St Paul’s Waiwhetu whānau hosted their Meet the Candidates event on Sunday.

After a combined service at 9am, we kicked off at 10:30, with the hall full of banners, tables, and even rosettes on offer. As opposed to the traditional style of a meet the candidate’s event, the candidates were allocated space around the hall to better facilitate conversations kanhoi ki te kanohi.

There was a great turnout from the candidates, who enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere, coffee, and donated vegan cake; as well as acknowledging that it was great to engage with our community in a non- traditional format.

At a time when many smaller businesses are still finding it tough going, there was also the added bonus of being able to offer space to a family business, who arrived with what must be the cutest wee Coffee caravan in Te Awakairangi.

As well as the expected campaign material around the hall, there were a couple of “Vote for Cranford” posters on display as well. Given his notoriety around our community and Fruit and Vege Co-op, and with what looks likely to be divisive election, Karl Weeks-Dickson felt it timely for the church cat to raise his profile politically, and to inject some much-needed lightness.

Each of the candidates willingly posed with his campaign poster, and he was seen in a few social media posts by some of the candidates.

While this was the first time that St Paul’s hosted an event for the General Election, they have previously hosted an event for the Local Body Elections; and like that event, Sunday’s event had at its heart, welcome, hospitality, kai, humour, and a commitment to serving candidates and community members alike.